He said:
S
ome people might find the prospect of taking a girl on cheap date unseemly. The guy who used to take his girlfriend to the $2 second-run movie theater is not among them, especially since tickets were free for employees.
I’m of the school of thought that there’s no such thing as a cheap date on a college budget. Expectations for romantic outings should instinctively be lowered at an age when Franzia is considered classy.
Most students don’t have the luxury of wooing the opposite sex with Redskins tickets. Besides, when the most popular college date requires only a mattress and functioning lock, extravagance isn’t really necessary.
Budget dating isn’t limited to after-hours rendezvous. There are more than enough inexpensive diversions in town to keep wallets fat enough for after-hours Pokie Sticks.
The new date night hotspot is Chipotle — not the dining, but the line. Thirty minutes of cruel temptation and forced bonding will strengthen even the flimsiest of relationships.
Why not complete the evening with a movie guaranteed to evacuate the roommates from the living room? Red Box offers rentals for $1 a night, and since “Iron Man 2” will almost certainly be sold out, girls can test their guys’ commitment by forcing them to watch “The Back-Up Plan.”
A romantic activity that doesn’t violate the Geneva Convention only costs the price of gas. Cascade Falls park, up U.S. 460, offers beautiful waterfalls, luscious forests and a trail challenging enough to weed out less physically adequate companions.
One advantage of Blacksburg’s admittedly remote location is an abundance of quality outdoor attractions. The Dragon’s Tooth hike and New River each provide excellent opportunities to impress the opposite sex by appearing rugged and outdoorsy.
It doesn’t matter if you spent the last 56 hours indoors attempting to watch three seasons of “Lost”; if you suggest an afternoon kayaking down the river, you might as well be Bear Grylls.
Looking to impress with refined taste without reading Proust or watching Wes Andersen movies? Blacksburg has dating spots for you, sexually motivated intellectual.
Nothing says worldly outlook like a romantic dinner at moderately priced foreign restaurant such as the Excellent Table or Cafe de Bangkok.
Would-be Casanovas trying to seal the deal with a live performance can choose from a plethora of shows put on throughout the year by Virginia Tech Union and the theatre department.
No cheap date, however, quite reaches the equilibrium of affordability and potential aphrodisiac like a night at the Lyric Theater.
The cheap ($4) tickets don’t reflect the quality of the movies shown; this month alone the Lyric is playing quality films such as “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” and “Easy A.”
The theater’s offerings run the gamut from explosive blockbusters such as “Inception” to foreign films such as “The Girl Who Played With Fire.”
Some may scoff at the idea of an American forced to read another language to be entertained, but consider how impressed your date will be by your apparently cultured taste.
Blacksburg offers plenty of romantic activities that fit a college budget, so there’s no excuse for ordering Chinese food and watching Netflix under the pretense of low funds.
Go out on the town and pretend to be more interesting than you really are. Apparently it worked for our parents’ generation.
She said:
In
A version of this article appeared in the Oct 19 issue of the Collegiate Times.
Leave a comment 0 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.